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In 2014, Nestlé capitalized on this success by opening the first Kit Kat (or KitKat) Chocolatory: a boutique Kit Kat store offering a range of special edition products.

When it comes to gifts, there is nothing more uniquely Japanese than classic omiyage. Omiyage, a word literally meaning “local product,” is a box of individually wrapped local snacks that Japanese people give their friends and colleagues after returning from a trip. In the West, this might seem like a nice gesture, but in Japan,...

You might already know the Japanese word wagashi, but what about dagashi? While wagashi describes high-end Japanese sweets, dagashi is the exact opposite: small, cheap, dime-a-dozen style snacks and candy. Why do these two words sound so similar? Although they’re both formed from the word for candy, kashi (菓子), wagashi gets the 和 prefix, meaning...

In Japan, sakura season is a big event in the calendar, heralding the arrival of spring, warmer weather, and the start of the school and business year. Beginning anywhere from late March to early May, it’s also an opportunity to experience the quintessentially Japanese activity of hanami, or flower viewing, where Japanese people flock by...

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma is the anime adaptation of the popular manga written by Yūto Tsukuda and serialized in Shonen Jump. It tells the story of Soma Yukihira, a budding chef who joins the elite Totsuki Saryo culinary school hoping to hone his skills enough to surpass his father and become a full-time chef...

We all know the most familiar Japanese cultural exports. From sushi, anime, samurai, and cherry blossoms, fans of Japan know them all. But in all the years Japan has been exporting its culture, “weird Japan” has got to be among the greatest sources of joy ever gifted to the world. Usually, the term “weird Japan”...